Gobbler Gathering

Photographs by ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS Evansville Rescue Mission volunteer, Kylen Girdley, helps Erica Robinson and her son Jayden, 2, to their car with a box of Thanksgiving food during the Evansville Rescue Mission’s 91st Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. The Rescue Mission’s annual program helps about 1,800 Tri-State families have food for the holiday. The food is donated by local companies and money raised from the Mission’s annual race, the Drumstick Dash also goes toward funding the event and provide families with a holiday meal.

Jazmyne Johnson and JaVonte White, seniors at Harrison High School and members of the school’s Center for Family and Community Outreach program, help load boxes full of stuffing and cornbread during the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. The Center for Family and Community Outreach program at Harrison is a half-day program open to seniors that pairs academics with helping produce content and web-based multimedia presentations for over 20 local nonprofits as well as helping to assist with various community service events.

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS Mary Mimms, left, Christal Houghton, center, and Cheryl Putnam pray with Pastor Tim Boyd and give thanks for their blessings during a service at the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. The three women were thankful for the food which will help feed their families during the holiday.

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS Luke Folz, a member of Crossroads Christian Church, runs sound for the choir dressed in a turkey outfit during the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. Each year the someone dresses in the turkey costume to bring a little laughter and joy not only to the families receiving food but to the volunteers as well.

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS Lois Onan, left and Susan Gordon, right, help fill baskets of food for needy Tri-State residents during the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. Both Onan and Gordon have volunteered at this event for many years. “To me, this is what Thanksgiving is really about,” Gordon said.

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS Omar Tunstall, 3, stands in line with his father Admiral Tunstall to receive their family’s Thanksgiving box of food at the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. The Tunstalls were one of about 1,800 families who received food through the Rescue Mission’s program.

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS William Sebree, left and Eli Weiss, right, help load Antonio Wright’s box of food into a cart at the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. Wright, who has an injured back and is currently out of work, said he is now looking forward to the holiday. “This is a big help, with a wife and seven kids this goes a long way to helping us have a big Thanksgiving spread,” Wright said.

ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER &amp; PRESS Evansville Rescue Mission volunteer, Susan Wade, left, says hello to 15-month-old, Melanie Marvel and her father, Daniel as they get their Thanksgiving food box filled at the Evansville Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering on Tuesday morning. The Marvels said the box helps make their Thanksgiving and they look forward to cooking their meal together.